I think you’re a couple of ice creams short of an interval, Mr. Holmes. We don’t do murders in the theatre. It’s bad for audience numbers!”
It’s Christmas in Victorian London but in the West End – where dreams come true and nothing bad ever happens – a flurry of performers are suddenly dying mid-scene. Scotland Yard rules out foul play…until the world’s greatest consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, discovers an intriguing link to The Twelve Days of Christmas. The game is afoot!
Racing against the clock to save French Hens, find Gold Rings and rescue Mother Goose, Sherlock plunges himself into mortal danger. Will this really be the last stand for our hero, or will his trusty sidekick Dr Watson and rival hotshot detective Athena Faversham ensure he lives to consume another Christmas Pudding…?
This World Premiere comedy whodunnit is penned by Fringe-favourites and comic geniuses, The Penny Dreadfuls’ Humphrey Ker and David Reed, with brand new songs by legendary musical theatre duo Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
A laugh-out-loud festive murder mystery, join us at 221b Baker St this Christmas for mischief, mayhem and a Partridge in a Pear Tree!
For everyone aged 10 to 110!
Great rates for schools and groups! Find out more at ticketservices@birmingham-rep.co.uk or call 0121 236 4455.
Price
From £25
Special Offers
Aged 16 to 25 Discounted tickets are available for this production for registered 16-25 members on the Mon 17 Nov, Tue 18 Nov, and Wed 19 Nov performances at 7pm. T&Cs apply – Find Out More
Presented by
Birmingham Rep in association with Heartaches Ltd
Written by
Humphrey Ker & David Reed
Original Songs by
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber
Directed by
Phillip Breen with Becky Hope-Palmer
Designed by
Mark Bailey
Age Guidance
For everyone aged 10 to 110!
Please note, no under 5s will be admitted to the auditorium.
Access Performances
Audio Described: Sat 13 Dec 2pm and Sat 10 Jan 2pm.
A Free Touch Tour is available to book at 12.30pm before the Audio Described performance.
BSL Interpreted: Thu 4 Dec 10.45am (Schools Performance) and Fri 5 Dec 7pm
Captioned: Thu 27 Nov 10.45am (Schools Performance), Thu 27 Nov 7pm, Wed 3 Dec 10.15am (Schools Performance), Wed 3 Dec 3pm, Thu 11 Dec 7pm, Fri 12 Dec 10.45am (Schools Performance), Sat 20 Dec 2pm, Sat 20 Dec 7pm, Sun 28 Dec 2pm, Mon 29 Dec 2pm, and Mon 29 Dec 7pm.
Relaxed: Fri 2 Jan 4pm
Fees & Charges
Please note there is a transaction fee of £3.50 on all payment types.
Venue
Cast
Humphrey Ker
Humphrey Ker is an Emmy and Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning writer, actor and football club director.
He is known for his roles on NBC’s American Auto, FX’s It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and BBC1’s Daddy Issues, alongside appearances on Have I got News For You, 8 Out Of 10 Cats and Welcome To Wrexham.
As a writer he has worked for three seasons on Apple TV Hit Mythic Quest, written the upcoming Amazon Prime Feature Film If I Were You and the stage and feature film versions of Dymock Watson: Nazi Smasher.
David Reed
David Reed is a playwright, actor and comedian.
Radio credits include: Macbeth Rebothered, The Odyssey, Curse of The Beagle, Le Carré On Spying, Don Quixote, Hadrian’s Beard, Richard III Rebothered and Severus (Co-written with Paterson Joseph). He is the creator of Audible Original series Zeroes and BBC3 animated series The Real History of Sex.
Television credits include: Daddy Issues, It’s Kevin & The Wrong Door. His debut theatrical production, Guy Fawkes, was staged by York Theatre Royal in 2022.
John Kearns
John Kearns is an actor, writer and the only comedian to have won both the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for Best Show and Best Newcomer in the awards’ 40-year history.
John was a breakout star of Series 14 of Taskmaster and his wider credits include the lead role in cult hit BBC3/Netflix sitcom Top Coppers, co-host of Guessable alongside Sara Pascoe and team captain Alan Davies, Would I Lie To You?, Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and House of Games.
John’s fifth stand-up comedy hour The Varnishing Days was filmed and released as a special on Sky and Now TV in August 2024 following a sold-out nationwide tour and his new show will tour the UK in 2026.
Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Theatre includes: Spike (Watermill Theatre & National Tour), Dick Whittington (Lyric Hammersmith), The Half, The Congress of Oddities (Pleasance), John Finnemore’s Flying Visit (Tour/Yellow Car Productions), Di & Viv & Rose (Stephen Joseph Theatre).
TV and Film includes: Cheaters, Daddy Issues, Eastenders, Motherland, Catastrophe, Miranda, Buffering, The Hustle, Holby City, Bucket, The Agency, Evermoor, The IT Crowd, Father Figure, In and Out of the Kitchen, Fresh Meat, Bleak Old Shop of Stuff, We Are Mongrels, Katy Brand’s Big Ass Show, Psychoville.
Radio includes: Randy Feltface’s Destruction Manual, The Archers, Sick, Woman’s Hour, The Penny Dreadfuls, John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme, The Missing Hancocks, The Pin, Ed Reardon’s Week, The Brig Society, The Secret World, Beauty of Britain, Newsjack, The Now Show, Another Case of Milton Jones, Bigipedia, In and Out of the Kitchen, Sarah Millican’s Support Group, Brian Gulliver’s Travels.
Podcasts include: Crushed By Margaret Cabourn-Smith, The Guilty Feminist, Do the Right Thing, Inside the Comedian, Hoovering, Smershpod.
Creative Team
Writer
Humphrey Ker
Humphrey Ker
Humphrey Ker is an Emmy and Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning writer, actor and football club director.
He is known for his roles on NBC’s American Auto, FX’s It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and BBC1’s Daddy Issues, alongside appearances on Have I got News For You, 8 Out Of 10 Cats and Welcome To Wrexham.
As a writer he has worked for three seasons on Apple TV Hit Mythic Quest, written the upcoming Amazon Prime Feature Film If I Were You and the stage and feature film versions of Dymock Watson: Nazi Smasher.
David Reed
David Reed
David Reed is a playwright, actor and comedian.
Radio credits include: Macbeth Rebothered, The Odyssey, Curse of The Beagle, Le Carré On Spying, Don Quixote, Hadrian’s Beard, Richard III Rebothered and Severus (Co-written with Paterson Joseph). He is the creator of Audible Original series Zeroes and BBC3 animated series The Real History of Sex.
Television credits include: Daddy Issues, It’s Kevin & The Wrong Door. His debut theatrical production, Guy Fawkes, was staged by York Theatre Royal in 2022.
Original Songs by
Tim Rice
Tim Rice
TIM RICE has worked in music, theatre and films since 1965. With Andrew Lloyd Webber he wrote three of the biggest musicals in theatre history: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita.
He has since collaborated with other distinguished composers such as Elton John (The Lion King; Aida), Alan Menken (Aladdin; King David; Beauty and the Beast), Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (Chess), and Stuart Brayson (From Here To Eternity). He has also written with Freddie Mercury, Burt Bacharach, Gary Barlow, Marvin Hamlisch and Rick Wakeman among others.
In 2024 Tim toured England (22 towns/cities) to present an evening of his songs, recalling their creation, success (or rejection) and the joy (usually) of working with great composers. The show, entitled My Life in Musicals, did so well that it is to be repeated in 2025. He has recently recorded a series of talks for BBC Maestro on Writing and Performing in Musical Theatre.
Tim’s interests beyond the entertainment business include cricket, and he founded his own team in 1973. He dedicates considerable time to several British educational institutions and charities, many connected with sport for disadvantaged children. He is a patron of the Bob Willis Fund (along with Bob Dylan!), an enterprise inspired by the late great English cricketer, dedicated to raise prostate cancer awareness.
He was knighted by Her Late Majesty the Queen in 1994 and, like Elton, Andrew and Alan, has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony – thus achieving ‘EGOT’ status. Despite hints, he is not retiring just yet.
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Director
Phillip Breen
Phillip Breen
Becky Hope Palmer
Becky Hope Palmer
Designer
Mark Bailey
Mark Bailey
Lighting Designer
Anna Watson
Anna Watson
Movement Director
Georgina Lamb
Georgina Lamb
Fights
Renny Krupinski
Renny Krupinski
Casting
Helena Palmer CDG
Helena Palmer CDG
Helena is a freelance casting director with over 20 years’ experience. She began her casting career at the Royal Exchange, Manchester and then with the National Theatre. She was Casting Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2008 to 2021.
Theatre includes: The Government Inspector and Anna Karenina (Chichester Festival Theatre); Red or Dead (Liverpool’s Royal Court); Gigi & Dar (Arcola Theatre); An Inspector Calls (PW Productions – 2024 UK tour); The Glass Menagerie (Rose Theatre, Kingston and tour); Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play (Manchester Royal Exchange/Young Vic); No Pay? No Way!, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Beginning (Manchester Royal Exchange); The Tempest and Cymbeline (Royal Shakespeare Company); Linck & Mülhahn, Mary and The Fever Syndrome (Hampstead Theatre); The White Factory and Dmitry (Marylebone Theatre) and The Mirror and the Light (Gielgud Theatre).
Helena is a member of the Casting Directors’ Guild.
Sherlock Holmes
- Schools Performance
Please note, this performance has been sold as a schools’ performance and therefore the audience will mainly consist of school parties. Please direct any school enquiries to schoolbookings@birmingham-rep.co.uk.
A limited number of tickets may go on sale at a later date.
-
- Schools Performance
Please note, this performance has been sold as a schools’ performance and therefore the audience will mainly consist of school parties. Please direct any school enquiries to schoolbookings@birmingham-rep.co.uk.
A limited number of tickets may go on sale at a later date.
-
- Schools Performance
Please note, this performance has been sold as a schools’ performance and therefore the audience will mainly consist of school parties. Please direct any school enquiries to schoolbookings@birmingham-rep.co.uk.
A limited number of tickets may go on sale at a later date.
Please note, this performance has been sold as a schools’ performance and therefore the audience will mainly consist of school parties. A limited number of tickets may go on sale at a later date.
- Schools Performance
Please note, this performance has been sold as a schools’ performance and therefore the audience will mainly consist of school parties. Please direct any school enquiries to schoolbookings@birmingham-rep.co.uk.
A limited number of tickets may go on sale at a later date.
-
- Schools Performance
Please note, this performance has been sold as a schools’ performance and therefore the audience will mainly consist of school parties. Please direct any school enquiries to schoolbookings@birmingham-rep.co.uk.
A limited number of tickets may go on sale at a later date.
- Schools Performance
Please note, this performance has been sold as a schools’ performance and therefore the audience will mainly consist of school parties. Please direct any school enquiries to schoolbookings@birmingham-rep.co.uk.
A limited number of tickets may go on sale at a later date.
- Schools Performance
Please note, this performance has been sold as a schools’ performance and therefore the audience will mainly consist of school parties. Please direct any school enquiries to schoolbookings@birmingham-rep.co.uk.
A limited number of tickets may go on sale at a later date.
- Schools Performance
Please note, this performance has been sold as a schools’ performance and therefore the audience will mainly consist of school parties. Please direct any school enquiries to schoolbookings@birmingham-rep.co.uk.
A limited number of tickets may go on sale at a later date.
- Schools Performance
Please note, this performance has been sold as a schools’ performance and therefore the audience will mainly consist of school parties. Please direct any school enquiries to schoolbookings@birmingham-rep.co.uk.
A limited number of tickets may go on sale at a later date.